CMBS Delinquencies Hit New High in December

Ouch!

Daily Real Estate News  |  January 27, 2011  | 
Foreclosures Jump in Unexpected Cities

The foreclosure crisis is now spreading to cities that were once relatively unscathed from the crisis. Seattle, Houston, and Chicago have joined the list of other cities in the United States plagued by a growing number of foreclosures and home owners unable to make their mortgage payments.

Foreclosure activity increased in 149 of the country’s 206 largest metro areas last year, reported RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing firm.

In the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metro area, the foreclosure rate jumped 26 percent from 2009 - the largest increase in foreclosures among the top 20 metro areas, according to RealtyTrac.

In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, the foreclosure rate increased nearly 23 percent - ranking second in areas with the largest increases. In Georgia, the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metro area was third with a 21 percent spike...

http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011012701

Commercial Real-Estate Debt Hits Two-Year High as Investors Bet Worst Over
By Sarah Mulholland - Jan 25, 2011 7:50 AM GMT-0500

Debt investors are wagering that the worst is over for commercial real estate, driving prices on mortgage bonds to the highest in more than two years.

"Investors have gotten more comfortable and have started putting money back into CMBS," Chris Callahan, head of commercial-mortgage backed bond trading at Credit Suisse Group AG, said in an interview at the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council's conference in Washington. "It has gone from being the red-headed stepchild to being a viable asset class again."

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-25/commercial-real-estate-debt-hits-two-year-high-as-investors-bet-worst-over.html

Home price slump deepens

By Les Christie, staff writer
January 25, 2011: 10:46 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- November home prices continued their latest slump, falling 1% compared with October, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index of 20 metro markets.

San Diego was the only market that didn't slip, posting a slight gain of 0.1%. The overall index fell for the fifth straight month and prices are at about the same level they were in mid-2003.

"With these numbers, more analysts will be calling for a double-dip in home prices," said David Blitzer, spokesman for Standard & Poor's...

http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/25/real_estate/november_home_prices/index.htm

Cheaper to buy than to rent in 72% of largest U.S. cities
Trulia: Former homeowners flooding rental market
By Inman News, Monday, January 24, 2011.

Despite the rising number of renters across the country, it is cheaper to buy a home rather than rent one in 72 percent of the 50 largest cities in the U.S., according to an index released by real estate search and marketing site Trulia.

"Since the start of the 'Great Recession,' many former homeowners have flooded the rental market. Following the principles of supply and demand, renting has become relatively more expensive than buying in most markets," said Pete Flint, CEO and co-founder of Trulia, in a statement.

"Though necessary for achieving true economic recovery, stricter bank lending practices have also further aggravated the struggling housing market in the short term. Even highly qualified homebuyers face intense scrutiny on their income, savings, existing debt and credit history before they can get a mortgage loan."...
http://www.inman.com/news/2011/01/24/cheaper-buy-rent-in-72-largest-us-cities

Shadow inventory threatens housing recovery

By Les Christie, staff writer
January 20, 2011: 7:34 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- There is a growing glut of foreclosed homes threatening to hit the market over the next couple of years, potentially delaying any recovery.

There were 1.7 million homes either owned by the bank or in some stage of foreclosure at the end of the third quarter of 2010, according to a recent report by Standard & Poor's. It would take 44 months, at the current rate of sales, to sell them off -- a 25% increase from the beginning of 2010. (S&P does not count home loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.)

This so-called "shadow inventory" may depress home values and delay the housing market recovery.

"The problem is you have all these properties coming down the pipeline that are nearly certain to hit the market. That's going to be a negative for the supply-demand equation," said Diane Westerback, Managing Director for S&P and an author of the report...

http://money.cnn.com/2011/01/20/real_estate/shadow_inventory_rise/index.htm

Daily Real Estate News   January 20, 2011

Global direct property investment is expected to rise 20 percent in 2011 to $380 billion, led by a sharp rise from the United States.

Commercial real estate investments - such as malls, offices, and industrial properties - reached $316 billion in 2010. That represented a 50 percent increase from an eight-year low in 2009 of $209 billion.

"Barring further sovereign debt crises or financial shocks, the momentum of 2010 is expected to continue over the next 12 months, and we predict global volumes for 2011 should increase by 20 to 25 percent," Arthur de Haast, head of Jones Lang LaSalle’s International Capital Group, told Reuters News.

The property consultancy company expects volumes in the Americas to jump 40 percent to $135 billion this year. U.S. recovery has been spurred by investor interests in New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco...

http://www.realtor.org/rmodaily.nsf/pages/News2011012005